An adulatory account of the musical achievements of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Most musicologists would agree that Coltrane (1926-67) was a seminal force in contemporary jazz, but this comparison by Nisenson ('Round About Midnight, 1982) of Coltrane's ``spiritual quest...to find the essence of music and the mind of God'' to Einstein's search for a unified field theory is a little too much. Nisenson painstakingly traces Coltrane's career from his earliest recordings with Dizzy Gillespie and his work as a member of Miles Davis's legendary late-50's quintet through his own classic ensembles and later forays into free jazz. But the author is blindsided by devotion to his subject and often acts as a shrill apologist for the excesses of Coltrane's music rather than offering a balanced guide (he calls Coltrane's album A Love Supreme one of ``the most moving and genuinely spiritual documents of our century''). Nisenson's hero-worship carries over into his comments about Coltrane the man as he marvels over Coltrane's ``sheer courage'' in following his muse and the ``enormous amount of sacrifice and continual growth'' that the musician's career embodied. Nisenson is at his best in describing Coltrane's fellow musicians, including the egotistical Miles Davis; the far-out Sun Ra, who created an entire self-mythology to accompany his innovative music; and the shrieking saxophone player Pharaoh Sanders, who was a close associate of Coltrane's during his final, most radical years. The author correctly identifies Coltrane's inspiration in the complex rhythmic bases of non-Western, modal music, and his influence on everyone from psychedelic rock stars to today's devotees of world music. Finally, Nisenson discusses Coltrane's legacy, finding fault with the empty commercialism of 70's jazz-rock fusion artists, as well as with the ``brittle and heartless'' neoclassicism of today's jazz superstars, such as Wynton Marsalis. As Nisenson says, more ``gaseous prose has been written about Coltrane'' than any other musician—but, unfortunately, he, too, generates more hot air than light.
Pub Date: Dec. 3, 1993
ISBN: 0-312-09838-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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